Key military officials from both nations have spoken over the hotline amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan following last week’s terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which claimed 26 lives. New Delhi has also warned Islamabad against “unprovoked violations” along the Line of Control, according to sources who spoke to the news agency. “Director Generals of Military Operations of India and Pakistan talked over the hotline yesterday to discuss the unprovoked ceasefire violations by Pakistan. India warned Pakistan against the unprovoked violations by the Pakistan army along the Line of Control,” the sources were quoted as saying on Wednesday.
After using unprovoked shooting along the Line of Control for six days in a row, Pakistan broke the truce on the International Border in Jammu on the day of the talk. “Further to the previous update about 29-30 April (night), unprovoked small arms firing by Pakistan Army was also reported from their posts across the Line of Control in Baramulla and Kupwara districts, as well as across the International Border in the Pargwal Sector,” a defence spokesman said, adding that Indian Army troops responded “appropriately”.
It is uncommon for Pakistan to fire across the international border, and it is thought that this has increased after the Pahalgam terror incident. India has taken a number of diplomatic actions against Pakistan in response to the national outcry over the targeted attack that killed 26 people, primarily tourists. These actions include the revocation of visas and the suspension of the crucial Indus Waters Treaty, which specifies how the six rivers of the Indus system will share water between the two nations.
In response, Pakistan has threatened to halt all bilateral accords, including the crucial Simla pact, which acknowledges the ceasefire line of December 17, 1971, as the Line of Control, and has closed its airspace to Indian aircraft. In this context, the ceasefire violations that followed this proclamation are also seen significant.
The Cabinet Committee on Security, India’s highest decision-making body on national security issues, was among the significant sessions that Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted on Wednesday. According to reports, Prime Minister Modi granted the armed forces “complete operational freedom” to choose the “mode, targets, and timing” of India’s military response to the Pahalgam attack during a previous high-level meeting on Tuesday that also included the chiefs of the armed services. Additionally, he “reaffirmed that it is our national resolve to deal a crushing blow to terrorism” and said he had “complete faith and confidence” in its military.
